Meet The Senior CIA Official Caught Posting Pro-Palestinian Content On Social Media
The top CIA official who changed her social media cover photo to a pro-Palestinian image two weeks after the Hamas terrorist organization carried out attacks on Israel is Associate Deputy Director for Analysis Amy McFadden, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.
The original Oct. 21 photo of a man waving a Palestinian flag — often used in articles critical of Israel — is no longer publicly visible on the official’s social media, as the official, the associate deputy director for analysis at the CIA, changed the image after the Financial Times reached out Monday, the outlet reported. The DCNF identified the official as Amy McFadden, who has served in the CIA Directorate of Analysis front office since 2020, according to her LinkedIn profile.
McFadden worked in the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, (RELATED: CIA Director Lands In Qatar For Secret Talks With Israeli Intelligence Over Additional Hostage Releases)
“The officer is a career analyst with an extensive background in all aspects of the Middle East and this post [of the Palestinian flag] was not intended to express a position on the conflict,” a person familiar with the situation told the FT. The person added that the official also posted Facebook posts opposing antisemitism.
The official previously oversaw the assembly of the President’s Daily Briefing and is jointly responsible for managing all analysis distributed within the CIA, the FT reported.
After the FT reached out, the official deleted pro-Palestinian content from her Facebook page going back a year and a half, the FT reported.
In a separate post, the official also posted a photo with the words “Free Palestine” overlaid on the image, the FT reported, though this image was reportedly posted years ago.
“CIA officers are committed to analytic objectivity, which is at the core of what we do as an Agency. CIA officers may have personal views, but this does not lessen their – or CIA’s – commitment to unbiased analysis,” a CIA spokesperson told the DCNF.
McFadden did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s outreach.
Former intelligence officials said the posts were unusual and expressed surprise that an official in a sensitive position would publicly post views on a charged issue contrary to the Biden administration’s overt support for Israel.
“The public posting of an obviously controversial political statement by a senior analytic manager in the middle of a crisis shows glaringly poor judgment,” one former intelligence official told the FT, adding that some intelligence community members were alarmed that the official’s public stance could undermine perceptions of objectivity in CIA.
*****
This article was published by The Daily Caller News Foundations and is reproduced with permission.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
